Tag Archives: united states history

William James on the Philosopher’s Primary Task

Posted on April 27, 2020 | Leave a comment

“There is only one thing a philosopher can be relied upon to do, and this is to contradict other philosophers.”

William James

Excerpted from: Winokur, Jon, ed. The Big Curmudgeon. New York: Black Dog & Leventhal, 2007.

Leave a comment

Posted in English Language Arts, Quotes, Reference, Social Sciences

Tagged , , ,

The Algonquin Wits: Harpo Marx Visits Alexander Woollcott’s Summer Place

Posted on April 20, 2020 | Leave a comment

“Harpo Marx once arrived at Woollcott’s Lake Bomoseen home in a broken-down Model-T Ford. ‘What do you call that?’ Woollcott exclaimed as he regarded the automobile.

‘This is my town car,’ Harpo explained.

‘What was the town?’ asked Woollcott. ‘Pompeii?’”

Excerpted from: Drennan, Robert E., ed. The Algonquin Wits. New York: Kensington, 1985.

Leave a comment

Posted in English Language Arts, New York City, Quotes, Reference

Tagged , ,

Jesse James

Posted on April 17, 2020 | Leave a comment

Here, on a Friday morning, is a reading on Jesse James along with its accompanying vocabulary-building and comprehension worksheet. Somewhere along the line (for me it was probably consequent to seeing, when I was 12 years old, Philip Kaufman’s film “The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid“) Jesse James attained status as something of a folk hero. As this reading discloses, he was a nasty piece of work–a Confederate sympathizer, klansman, and cold-blooded murderer. In today’s Republican party, he could be a congressional candidate.

If you find typos in these documents, I would appreciate a notification. And, as always, if you find this material useful in your practice, I would be grateful to hear what you think of it. I seek your peer review.

Leave a comment

Posted in English Language Arts, Independent Practice, Social Sciences, Worksheets

Tagged , , , ,

Cultural Literacy: Leaves of Grass

Posted on April 13, 2020 | Leave a comment

Here is a Cultural Literacy worksheet on Leaves of Grass ; the book actually went through numerous editions, depending on how one counts them. That count, in any case, includes the famous “deathbed edition,” which had grown to almost 400 poems from the 12 in the first edition.

Walt Whitman is a central figure in American letters and Leaves of Grass a milestone in American poetry. I can’t imagine why high school students shouldn’t learn something about him. Moreover, Whitman can serve as a means of introducing students to the concept of free verse–again, something high school students should understand, and be able to understand.

If you find typos in this document, I would appreciate a notification. And, as always, if you find this material useful in your practice, I would be grateful to hear what you think of it. I seek your peer review.

Leave a comment

Posted in English Language Arts, Independent Practice, Worksheets

Tagged , , , ,

William Holmes McGuffey

Posted on April 13, 2020 | Leave a comment

“William Holmes McGuffey: (1800-1873) American educator and textbook compiler, College teacher and president, McGuffey was known to thousands of Americans as the author of their first schoolbook. The series began in 1836, with the First and Second Readers. The Primer, Third, and Fourth Readers appeared in 1837, the Speller, and the Rhetorical Guide in 1841, the Fifth and Sixth Readers in 1844 and 1857. He collaborated with his younger brother, Alexander Hamilton McGuffey, on the “Eclectic Series.” The books sold 122 million copies, with new editions issued as late as 1920. McGuffey was a political conservative who supported the Hamiltonians rather than the Jeffersonians; his Readers reflect his point of view.”

Excerpted from: Murphy, Bruce, ed. Benet’s Reader’s Encyclopedia, Fourth Edition. New York: Harper Collins, 1996.

Leave a comment

Posted in English Language Arts, Quotes, Reference, Social Sciences

Tagged , , ,

Lucky Luciano

Posted on April 9, 2020 | Leave a comment

Here is a relatively high-interest reading on Lucky Luciano along with its attendant vocabulary-building and comprehension worksheet. As I say tirelessly–and probably tiresomely as well–this material is in Microsoft Word so there is plenty of room to expand, contract, or otherwise manipulate it for your needs.

If you find typos in these documents, I would appreciate a notification. And, as always, if you find this material useful in your practice, I would be grateful to hear what you think of it. I seek your peer review.

Leave a comment

Posted in English Language Arts, Independent Practice, Social Sciences, Worksheets

Tagged , , , ,

Mark Twain

Posted on April 8, 2020 | Leave a comment

Here is a reading on Mark Twain and its accompanying vocabulary-building and comprehension worksheet. It’s a nice little biography and could serve as a concise but informative introduction to this great American writers for young readers.

If you find typos in these documents, I would appreciate a notification. And, as always, if you find this material useful in your practice, I would be grateful to hear what you think of it. I seek your peer review.

Leave a comment

Posted in English Language Arts, Independent Practice, Social Sciences, Worksheets

Tagged , , , , ,

Everyday Edit: Hawaii, the 50th State

Posted on April 3, 2020 | Leave a comment

Moving right along this morning, here is an Everyday Edit worksheet on Hawaii, America’s 50th State.

And as always, to give credit where it is so abundantly due, you should know that the good people at Education World generously offer at no cost to you a yearlong supply of these documents. I’ve used them for many years in my classrooms, and they are first rate.

And if you find typos in this document, for heaven’s sake fix them! That’s the whole point here….

Leave a comment

Posted in English Language Arts, Independent Practice, Social Sciences, Worksheets

Tagged , , ,

Cultural Literacy: Internment of Japanese Americans

Posted on April 2, 2020 | 1 comment

Here is a Cultural Literacy worksheet on Internment of Japanese Americans in the United States during World War II. I don’t want to belabor the point, but this is not one of the proudest moments in this nation’s history. But come to think of it a bit, especially given the recent spate of racist attacks against Americans of Asian Pacific descent, it might not be a bad idea to teach this as a cautionary tale about nationalist bigotry.

In any case, this worksheet is long enough that you could–especially if you teach social studies–use it as independent practice, i.e. homework.

If you find typos in this document, I would appreciate a notification. And, as always, if you find this material useful in your practice, I would be grateful to hear what you think of it. I seek your peer review.

1 Comment

Posted in English Language Arts, Independent Practice, Social Sciences, Worksheets

Tagged , , ,

Black Elk

Posted on March 31, 2020 | Leave a comment

“Black Elk: In a work entitled Black Elk Speaks: Being the Life Story of a Holy Man of the Oglala Sioux (1932; repr 1988), Black Elk (1863-1950) recounted his life to John G. Neihardt (1881-1973), conveying important insights into Native American culture, religion, and life on the Plains, as well as a firsthand account of the destruction of that way of life. Black Elk witnessed both Custer’s defeat at Little Big Horn and the Wounded Knee Massacre of 1890, in which the U.S. Army killed over a hundred men, women, and children. The massacre marked the end of the Indian Wars.

Excerpted from: Murphy, Bruce, ed. Benet’s Reader’s Encyclopedia, Fourth Edition. New York: Harper Collins, 1996.

Leave a comment

Posted in English Language Arts, Essays/Readings, Quotes, Reference, Social Sciences, Worksheets

Tagged , ,